How times have changed.
Over the first three seasons of “True Blood,” Sookie has grown into a take-charge heroine who can contend with shapeshifters, maenads, werewolves and – in Season 4 – witches, but no longer depends on her vampire paramour, Bill Compton, or his fanged rival, Eric Northman. During that time, Anna Paquin, the 28-year-old actress who plays Sookie, has evolved, too, into an increasingly central figure on this increasingly popular, explicit-in-all-kinds-of-ways HBO series, who has comfortably outgrown her former status as a precocious phenomenon (and is now married to co-star Stephen Moyer, who plays vampire Bill).
Ms. Paquin spoke recently for this Arts & Leisure article about her maturation on the show...
When I spoke to Alan Ball, he said he was surprised that you were interested in being in the “True Blood” pilot.
I think that was mutual, though. I was surprised that anyone wanted to cast me as blond and perky, and he asked me several times, “So, you seriously want to do a TV show for seven years?” I was like, “Yes.”
Sookie’s innocence is a big part of her character when we first meet her. Did you feel you were able to bring that to the role?
Well, Sookie was a hell of a lot more naive than I think I’d been in quite some time. A lot of times I end up being asked about, “Did XYZ experience in your childhood make you nervous. Were you worried? Were you scared?” Well, I didn’t know I was supposed to be. So no, I wasn’t. And that’s how Sookie is. She doesn’t quite know just how big what she’s getting herself into is. And so she proceeds with full force, Sookie energy. And I think that’s something that she and I have in common – completely different circumstances. If I’d known what I was getting myself into, would I have charged full-steam ahead? Who knows. I love where I am now.
Since this is an interview about “True Blood,” let’s get this over with: Did you have any concerns or second thoughts about the amount of nudity that the role calls for?
I’m not going to say that they wouldn’t have cast me if I wasn’t up for it. But it certainly would be a bit of a buzzkill if Sookie never took her clothes off, considering how often she has sex on the show. Considering the books were about the sexual awakening of a 25-year-old who has 25 years’ worth of pent-up frustration and then is supposed to have lots of hot vampire sex. And also, it was not something that I was uncomfortable with. And I’d done some pretty off-color stuff in various other jobs I’d done, and at much younger ages, with a lot less life experience.
But not to this extent!
Well, there’s a limit to how much you can show of a 15-year-old, but I played some pretty damaged, messed-up, promiscuous little street urchins, in film and on stage. All the wild fantasy vampire sex, at least it’s amongst consenting adults.
Have you seen the video for Snoop Dogg’s “Oh Sookie”?
There are certain moments where you’re like, “We must be doing our jobs well when, dot dot dot.” One of them was the Snoop Dogg video and one of them was the porn parody. We have officially entered the zeitgeist when there’s like tribute videos and pornography.
I have to ask: did you watch that?
No, but Steve and I did give it out as a crew gift last year. [laughs] And I can honestly say I have not watched it. I, at some point, probably out of curiosity will watch it. It’s not on my Top 10 list of things I need to do in my quite limited free time.
Television Series: True Blood (S04E07- Cold Grey Light of Dawn)
Release Date: August 2011
Actress: Anna Paquin & Britt Morgan
Video Clip Credit: Zither
Anna Paquin
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Britt Morgan
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